In April 2001, bankruptcy attorney Salmen, along with partners Robert Daly
and James Olsen, purchased bankrupt Sun Country Airlines, headquartered in
Mendota Heights. Salmen and his partners reconfigured Sun Country as a hybrid
that combines scheduled air travel and chartered tours. In 2005, Sun Country
flew 1.6 million passengers; Salmen projects that it may turn a profit this
year.
"The airline industry overall has not done a good job of serving its
customers. It is amazing the positive comments and overall response we get
because of our customerfriendly service. The thing that I learned about myself
is that it's interesting and amazing what you can accomplish with team work and
people pulling the same way. We have a culture here that has allowed us to get
some things done that people didn't think we would. The amazing thing about Sun
Country is that our people want to see this airline succeed as much as they want
to see themselves be successful."
